Cros: the silk trail

Description

As you travel through a valley shaped by silkworm farming, every step shows you signs of this commercial activity, now abandoned. At Cros, mulberry trees were first recorded in the early 18th century. In fact, it all started with that tree, whose leaf is indispensable for feeding the manhan (Occitan for silkworm, spelled magnan in French.) Silkworm breeding takes a few weeks from April to July and requires a large workforce as well as specific rooms, the magnaneries. Cros was also home to several spinning-mills that transformed the precious cocoons into silk thread.

Difficulty

Official rating: very easy, by Parc national des Cévennes.

Getting there

Start: Le temple, lieu dit La Mazade, Cros (30).

Sources

• Track: Parc national des Cévennes, Licence Ouverte 1.0, Licence Ouverte 1.0 (Etalab) (destination.cevennes-parcnational.fr/trek/73288-Cros%2C-le-sentier-de-la-soie). Time estimated by GPX Path with the Mac app rule, breaks not included.
• Official elevation gain: 96 m, Parc national des Cévennes